Story of a lifetime
by Qiwi
Summary: It's been a few months since Kratos left, and on a sleepless night Lloyd decides to tell him about his life with Dirk. It is going to be one long night... SPOILERS! Please R&R!
1. Prologue

**Story of a lifetime**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

_**WARNING: SPOILERS! **_

It's another sleepless night for Lloyd Irving, and as he watches the stars he tells his dad his and Dirk's story. It will be a long night, full of joyous and sad memories, but most of all a night to remember.

A/N I know the summary isn't any good, but I'm really bad at summaries. Anyway, please read and tell me what you think about it!

Prologue ----------

Lloyd sighed as he stood on the balcony outside his room. The little dots of light filled the endless, black sky with serenity. He wanted to reach out and touch the stars, but knew that was not possible. The safe feeling the stars used to give him had increased, after his dad left. Kratos...

The thought of him made Lloyd feel the tears well up again. It had been a few months since he left, and Lloyd could feel the hollowness in everything he did without him. But then again, he had a dad anyway. He smiled at the thought of Dirk. He'd known the dwarf for about 15 years now, and though he was not his real father, he still felt like one despite his race. Lloyd looked up at the stars, and decided to tell his father about Dirk. After all, he couldn't sleep, and talking to Kratos made him feel less empty. He took a deep breath, and dug up all the memories in his head he could remember.

'Hey dad... long time no see huh? Anyway, I couldn't sleep again this night, so I thought I'd tell you about Dirk. I figured maybe you would like that. It's not like there's much to do on Derris-Kharlan anyway.' Lloyd sighed again when thinking about the giant purple mass of mana that floated somewhere in space, with his dad on it. If only... no, he wasn't going to think like that again!

'You're going to laugh your head off at all the things Dirk and I did. Anyway, I hope you're not sleepy or something, cause this is going to be a long story...'

End ----------

A/N Well, that's the beginning, I haven't exactly planned on how to do this, and I actually don't know IF I'm going to do this, it suddenly popped in my head after trying to write a one-shot xD Anyway, if there are people out there interested drop a review and let me know!


	2. A first meeting

**Story of a lifetime**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

_**WARNING: SPOILERS! **_

A/N After getting a few reviews which told me to continue, well, here it is! I hope you like it. I'm open for suggestions as well. If you want to see something in the story, just leave a review, and maybe I'll do it. Enjoy reading!

_Italics_ - thoughts

Response to reviewers:

MoonCannon: Thanks! The chapters will be longer than the prologue of course, so don't worry about that.

Melody of Shadow: Thanks as well! I didn't quite know what else to put in the prologue, there wasn't really anything else to tell. xD Yes I remember that line, I wanna keep it as in character as possible, so he'll cry a lot in the beginning, poor Dirk!

Chapter 1: A cruel first meeting ----------

It was a calm morning, when some birds began to sing their daily song. Soon more birds began to sing, and a few minutes later you wouldn't have imagined that it had been quiet. Everywhere little ballads could be heard, and eventually they blended into one melody, peaceful and merry.

But even though this merry song was quite loud, it could not cover the styptic cry of some creature getting attacked. A dwarf in his house nearby heard the cry, and came out of his house looking in the direction the screech came from. He saw birds flying up somewhere, and made his decision. Someone, or something, was in danger, and he would find out what had happened. The cry had made him tremble like nothing else had ever done before, and trusting his dwarven instincts, he knew that that meant no good.

He grabbed his axe, that was lying in a corner, covered with dust and only shimmering weakly, for it had not been used in a long time, and Dirk hoped he could keep it that way. The dwarf's name was Dirk, and he was only one of the few dwarfs that had decided to live on the surface, as he offered people his skills for payment.

As fast as possible Dirk made his way through the thick forest, his heavy boots not exactly helping him. He quickly began to run, because there was nothing to be heard anymore. Not even the wind that usually blew in this region, normally whistling in his ears, could be heard. He suspected the worst. That the person that had let out that screech had already been killed. He quickened his pace even more, as much as his boots let him.

Suddenly he came to a halt, and looked around him suspiciously. He could hear someone crying_. Was it... a child?_ Maybe the infant had been scared by some monster, but he probably wasn't alone, so Dirk trusted that his parents would have taken care of the thing by now. But why did the child keep crying?

He sighed, turned around and was about to walk back when he noticed the redbrown spatter on the forest ground. _Blood!_ His eyes widened in horror. _The child's parents could have been attacked, not knowing that there were monsters in this region!_ He quickly turned around again and ran, while trying to hear where the child's cries were coming from, and trying to follow the trail of blood. The toddler's crying was becoming louder and louder, and when Dirk least expected it, he suddenly was no longer surrounded by trees, and stepped into the sunlight.

Blinded he held his hand in front of his eyes, and when he was used to the light he blinked and was shocked by the picture before his eyes. He blinked again, wishing that the image would go away, but it didn't, and he shook his head, still trying to get the image off his mind. Then he suddenly noticed that it was quiet, very quiet. The infant had stopped crying and was now looking at the dwarf in wonder and fear.

The infant was standing next to the body of a woman, whose clothes were drenched with blood. She lay on her back, facing the air, eyelids shut, and her long brown hair was spread all over the ground. He could see the tear in the brown fabric of her clothes, where the blood kept streaming out. And suddenly he remembered something someone said to him once. _Whenever a person is dead he or she will stop bleeding immediately. _It flashed through his mind, and he was horrified. _The woman was still alive!_ Quickly he ordered his feet to walk to the woman, but they wouldn't move. "Dammit! Move!" He growled, and they ran towards the woman, never noticing the toddler backing away.

He bent over her and felt her pulse. He was right, she was still alive, but the beat was already becoming slower and slower. He looked at the wound, it was deep and she had been in this condition for several minutes. _She wouldn't make it!_ He started to panic and wanted to scream. _If only he had been faster!_ Suddenly the woman's eyes fluttered open, and when she saw the dwarf's worried face she smiled.

"Don't worry, mr. Dwarf." Her soft voice spoke, barely audible to Dirk. He was busy examining the wound. Even if he could get a doctor on time, he would still not be able to save her. That's when he heard her speak.

"I know I'm going to die, but please don't trouble yourself thinking this was your fault, cause it wasn't." She coughed, and some blood dripped out of mouth. Dirk stared at her, amazed she was still able to talk.

"But madame, there must be something I can do! I could--" He started, but she put one slender finger on his lips.

"Sssstt... It's alright. I only have one request for you." She sighed, and continued. "Would you please take care of my son... Mr...?" 

"Dirk." Dirk quickly replied, and looked around searching for her son, whom was nowhere to be seen.

"Dirk," she answered. "that's all I ask of you, his name's Lloyd..." She was quickly starting to slip away. Dirk desperately tried to keep her awake, but her eyelids shut again, and when he felt her pulse, the only response was a dead silence. He grabbed her hands, which were already getting cold, and put them on her chest, folded. Then he backed away, stood up and looked around.

"Now where has that boy gone? He was here just a minute ago!" Still shocked about the woman's sudden death and her last wish, he promised himself he was going to fulfill it. She had put her trust in him, and he wasn't going to betray that trust. Suddenly he heard soft footsteps, and out of the bushes the little boy appeared again. He seemed to be no older than 4 years, and his hands were trembling as he looked at his mother's body.

Dirk followed his gaze, and paled. _Damn!_ The boy made his way to his mother, and dropped on his knees in front of her face. "Mooooommy!" He yelled, looking desperately at her face, wishing for her eyes to open, to take him in her arms and tell him everything was alright, just like she used to do. But there was no response, and he threw himself on his mother, whispering words: "Mommy where did you go? Mommy! Mommy please come back! The scary monster is gone now! Mommy, where's daddy? The scary people are gone too mommy, please wake up!" He kept on whispering, obviously not knowing what happened to his mother.

Dirk stood and watched the scene with tears in his eyes. How was he ever going to tell the toddler that his mother was away, for good? He slowly walked to the child, and silently stood behind him, as the child kept whispering about a scary monster and scary people. Dirk catched the word daddy and his eyes widened. _Of course the boy still had a dad! The man would probably be somewhere in the forest looking for his son._ He considered leaving the boy behind, for he would obviously not like being with a stranger, but then again, maybe the monster he was talking about was still somewhere around here, and if it wasn't the monsters in the forest would take care of him.

He decided to just take the boy along with him, when he heard a whine behind him. Before he could dodge something hit him in the back and threw him aside. The flash of white and green ran towards the boy. "NO!" Dirk screamed, _the boy was going to be attacked!_ But just before the creature was about to slam into the toddler, he stopped, and tilted his head, looking at the boy.

Lloyd looked up, saw the creature and a weak smile appeared on his face. "Noishy! I thought the big mean monster had hurt you!" He cuddled the animal, who didn't seem to mind at all, and caressed his fur.

Dirk looked at the two of them. "So this must be his pet or something." He couldn't really call the thing in front of him an animal though. It was big, the size of a wolf, but his fur was white, except for at its neck, where it was green. Its big ears were white and green as well, it was wagging its tail as Lloyd caressed him. Its eyes were extremely big, and almost black, but somehow they had this humanlike sympathy in them, as if it knew what the boy was going through, and wanted to show his compassionnateness.

Dirk examined the creature again, and came to the conclusion that he had never seen it before. But he guessed it was strong enough to protect the boy against monsters, cause it obviously cared for the boy. He left without Lloyd ever noticing he was there at all.

Lloyd just kept caressing Noishe, while talking to him. "Noishy, do you know what happened to daddy? I hope he comes soon and wakes up mommy! She's sleeping, strange huh? I mean, how can she sleep? She was awake a few minutes ago!" The toddler was clearly happier than first, mainly because his big animal friend had joined him.

Noishe kept looking at him with the same sad look in his eyes, which Lloyd couldn't understand. "Noishy, why are you sad? Do you miss daddy? I'm sure he comes and wakes up mommy and then we can go play again!" The toddler smiled at the thought, he loved playing, and always wanted his parents to join him, but they always seemed too tired to do so. Lloyd sighed, he sure hoped his dad would come soon, because just sitting there with Noishe was getting him bored.

He jumped up. "Noishe, let's play tag!" He pushed the animal in the side and rushed off on his little legs, trying to get a lead so the creature wouldn't catch and tag him. This was useless of course, since the animal was far bigger than Lloyd and at least twice as fast. Fortunately they kept running around the spot where Dirk had found them, or else he would've had a hard time finding them again.

Dirk, however, was already having a hard time. He felt like he had been strolling around in the forest for forever, looking behind every tree, hoping that Lloyd's dad wouldn't have been hurt by that monster too. He kept on walking and walking. Though he knew this area very well, he felt that he was walking around in circles. So he took another direction and looked everywhere, but there seemed to be no trace that could tell him there had ever been anyone here at all. By now he had reached the Iselia forest, and was wondering whether he should go in or not. He looked back at the point where Lloyd was, and back at the entrance again. He sighed and swiftly stepped forth, his silhouet disappearing among the trees.

The suffocating darkness didn't feel normal. It was even worse than usual, and Dirk didn't like the silence at all. "Damn, where could this man be?" He asked himself, and gripped his axe tighter, because he knew that the monsters in this area were not that gentle when they felt threatened.

Suddenly he heard a scream, which caused him to fall backwards, when he hit the ground he quickly crawled behind a tree, just quick enough to not get trampled down by the metal boots that appeared next to him. The sound of metal normally gave him a comfortable feeling, he loved working with metal, but this sound made him shiver. _Damned Desians!_ _What're THEY doing here?_

The boots disappeared again, and when they quickly flashed by him he had caught some of the words they had said: "We've ... them! Damn! Where's ... Angelus Project! Woman ... has! And the sound of clinging armour faded away.

_Woman? Wait a minute... Holy cow! They're after that woman! But I didn't see anything unusual! Doesn't matter, I've got to get back there before they find Lloyd!_

Dirk quickly got up and ran back, out of the suffocating darkness, which only seemed to become worse by the minute. After several minutes of running through the forest and trying to not bump into the Desians, he reached the spot.

He sighed out of relief, the boy was still there playing with the animal, and the woman's body lay there just like he left it. Suddenly something shimmered as the sunlight shone through the clouds that had covered it, and Dirk was blinded by a bright light. When the light dimmed, he walked towards the body, and saw something he had not seen yet. On her throat, was a round blue Exsphere.

Dirk frowned, an Exsphere on someone's throat? That was highly unusual. Normally Desians would attach the Exsphere to the prisoner's hand when they captured people. But then again, maybe this one was special, seeing as how the Desians were after her. He would have to take it from her. It was probably the reason why they killed her in the first place...

Maybe, if Lloyd was older, Dirk could give it to him.

_What am I thinking? I'm standing in the middle of the forest where Desians are after a woman and I'm thinking about giving her child the cause of her death! This whole situation is driving me to insanity!_

He shielded his eyes though, as his hands took hold of the blue sphere and gently pulled it out, but although he was shielding his eyes, he could not keep his ears from hearing the sucking sound as the Exsphere came loose from the woman's skin, the sound sickening him. The sphere glowed red for a moment as it left its owner, but then returned back to blue.

Dirk stroked the smooth surface of the Exsphere, and then slid the object in his pocket. Little did he know the things that this Exsphere could give its owner. He sighed as he saw Lloyd playing with the animal, whose name was Noishe, for Dirk understood that Noishy was his nickname.

Lloyd was having a good time playing with Noishe, but after a couple of minutes let himself fall on the hard ground, sighing of exhaustion, and Noishe soon followed, being sure of seeing everything, so he could guard his master.

"Pffff.. Wow Noishe that was fun!" Lloyd called out happily, hugging his big friend. "Now let's wait until daddy comes to get us!"

Dirk froze.

_Damn! I forgot his dad, but I guess he ain't here anymore. The poor lil' boy, he's got no idea what lies ahead of him._

He cleared his throat, trying to get the boy's attention, but Lloyd just ignored the little man, as he called Dirk in his mind, standing there. Dirk tried it again, but Lloyd somehow managed to ignore him, either he didn't hear it or just ignored the dwarf, and he kept speaking with his fellow pet.

Suddenly Lloyd tried to stand up, but Noishe seized his clothes and pulled him down. Lloyd fell on his bum, which must've hurt a lot, because he started crying.

"Ouchie! That hurt Noishe!" He managed to call out between his sobs. As he cried he whiped his pants off, which were all dirty by now. Noishe howled, and just looked at the boy with those compassionate eyes.

Dirk wondered if this was one of those moments were he would have to comfort the child, tell him everything was alright, and hug him. He shuddered at the thought, but looking at the infant told him he had to do something to gain the boy's trust. So he grabbed together all of his courage, and stepped forward.

"Hey, uhm... lil' fella? Are you alright?" He managed to bring out, though hardly audible. He never thought that he, a dwarf, would speak words like that out loud.

Lloyd looked up at the dwarf, his eyes gaining this cute, innocent yet sad look, and he blinked. "Who are you?" He asked, blinking again, then looking at Noishe and back at the dwarf. Noishe blinked as well, and watched the dwarf with an expression Dirk had never seen before, it seemed like a fusion between curiosity and fear, but he couldn't figure out what it exactly was.

He cleared his throat again, nervously digging his foot in the ground, as the little boy continued to stare at him. Dirk felt his eyes on him, and while fidgeting with his beard, he said: "Uhm, I'm a friend of ya mom's! She told me to look, uhm, after ya till ya dad comes to pick y'up."

The burning of the little boy's eyes on him lessened, but they kept staring nevertheless. Noishe growled, and took a step forward, as if he were threatening the dwarf. Come closer and die. "Friend of mommy?" Lloyd gasped. "You're a friend of mommy, little man?"

Dirk's eyes widened at the words little man.

_What! Little man? Never in my life did someone call me that! Ridiculous! I'd say this boy deserves to be punished the hard way._

"Calm down, don't let him get to ya, it's just a lil' boy." He said to himself, slowly breathing in and out to control his anger.

"Yup, I'm ya mom's friend! So, what's ya name?" He managed to bring out, still trying to control himself.

Lloyd smiled brightly, and said with a high pitched voice: "I'm Lloyd! What's your name mister little? You're not very big, are you? My dad's huuuuuuuuge!" He stood on the tip of his toes stretching his arms out as high as possible to show how big his dad was.

Dirk growled in his mind, annoyed by the boy's rudeness, and this turn of events in the last couple of hours didn't do his temper any good. Yes, Dirk had quite a temper, but he wasn't going to let it interfere with his attempts to gain the toddler's trust.

"So you have a huge dad? What does he look like?" He asked in his friendliest voice, smiling as well.

"He wears these cool purple clothes! And his hair's all messy, just like mine!" Lloyd laughed, while messing through his hair. "And he's got a sword! It's really cool too!"

"I see, is he a good swordsman?" Dirk asked, while raising his eyebrow.

_If the man had a sword, how come he couldn't protect his wife from the monster or the Desians? Or he was a rather poor one, and only carried the sword to scare others, but that's not really clever._

"He's great! He can do all this cool stuff! He even-" Lloyd was about to say something else, but got interrupted by the cry of someone.

"Guys, you haven't searched here yet!" Some raw voice shouted, and soon the clinging of armour was heard, followed by loud thumps as feet in boots hit the forest ground.

Dirk froze and stared at the spot the shout had came from.

_Damn those Desians! I can't let them get the boy or find out the woman's Exsphere is gone! I have to get him outta here!_

Lloyd was about to talk about his dad again, but got interrupted for the second time as Dirk quickly took his hand and lead him through the forest. Noishe followed them, glaring at Dirk.

Though Dirk didn't want the woman to be found, his first priority was protecting Lloyd, he could go back and get the woman's body later.

Lloyd was dragged along, and looked at Noishe in wonder, as Dirk made his way through the forest.

"Hey, here is that damned woman! But... the Exsphere is gone!" The same raw voice shouted, filled with shock. "Damnit! Who's taken it! Everybody, search this area and find that Exsphere!" He commanded, and the sounds of armour spreading out everywhere was the only reply.

Soon one pair of boots seemed to get close, and Dirk slowed his pace, trying to walk as soundlessly as possible. It didn't help though, since the boots came closer and closer, and suddenly he heard a voice: "Hey you there! Dwarf! Stop right there!"

End ----------

A/N Well that's it for now, sorry for the cliff-hanger, I didn't really know how to end the first chapter, so I just went with this. I will be updating really slowly though, since this is my first actual story and I want to do it right. If you find any errors, please leave a review and tell me so, if not, just leave a review. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it so far!


	3. Getting to know

**Story of a lifetime**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

_**WARNING: SPOILERS! **_

A/N Well, here's the second chapter, so let's see what happened to Dirk! Enjoy reading!

P.S. I'll be leaving for holiday the 11/07 until 22/07, and I'll try to get another chapter up before then, and maybe I'll have time to write something on my vacation, so the update of chapter 4 will be in the week after I return, I'll try to stick to at least 1 chapter a week, and that shouldn't be a problem since holidays are coming! 

_Italics_– thoughts

Response to reviewers:

Kiesha: Thank you! I feel sorry for Lloyd too, I'm probably just too addicted to the game xD

MoonCannon: Thanks, it's really hard for me to properly portray Dirk, as you don't really get to know him in the game, and I especially have no idea about the way he talks.

Melody of Shadow: Thanks, when I read stories in the ToS section most of them seem kind of rushed, and I rather explain everything, so I'm just taking my time xD

KratosForever: Wow, you're making me blush! I'm thinking about rewriting The Departure, cause the more I read it, the more I start to dislike it, so expect it to be rewritten one of these days/weeks xD

Chapter 2: Getting to know ----------

Dirk stopped, he could almost feel his heart beating in his throat, and slowly turned around. Lloyd looked up at Dirk and Noishe growled, staring at the Desian with rage sparkling in his eyes. The Desian pointed his crossbow at them, and raised an eyebrow when he saw the dwarf was holding a toddler.

He was dressed in shining silver armour, and on top of that he wore blue coloured clothes, his blinking helmet covering everything except for his eyes, which looked at Dirk suspiciously. There were signs all over his attire, stitched on it in yellow threads. They seemed to have no particular shape, and were highly confusing and unnecessary to Dirk.

_Damned Desians! Great, now I'm trapped. _

"What's tha-" Lloyd was about to ask, pointing at the crossbow the Desian was holding, but Dirk quickly shut his mouth by poking him in the side.

"Ssssst." Was all Dirk barely audible whispered to the boy, who nodded in agreement, seeming to feel how tense the situation was at that point.

"You! Dwarf! Put that axe down and empty your pockets!" The Desian shouted, his voice tripped, and in a glance Dirk could tell he was new at the Desians. He smirked barely visible, and walked towards him, gesturing Lloyd and Noishe to stay where they are.

_We'll see who's the tough guy here, fella._

"What the hell are you doing? I told you to put down the axe, or would you rather want an arrow to kill you instead?" The Desian shouted, but he was getting nervous, his voice going a few pitches higher. He lightly started shaking, and under his helmet Dirk could see in his eyes he didn't know what to do. It was certain the boy, for the Desian was no older than 20, didn't want to kill him.

_Poor lad, ya still need a lotta training._

"I thought ya told me to empty my pockets? I thought as a sign of peace I'd give them to ya instead." Dirk said, putting one hand in his pocket, with the other gripping his axe tighter.

"Well, uhm, just put the axe down!" The young man shouted, his voice noticeably trembling with doubt, as the dwarf was only a few feet away from him. Dirk smirked again, he just made up a simple, but effective plan.

"Okay then, if ya really want me to." Dirk bent a few inches, like he was going to obey the Desian's orders, and then he heard the man sigh and saw him raising his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead, letting go of the crossbow.

_Gotcha._

He quickly stood up, threw his arm forward as if he were throwing a spear, sending his axe flying.

The weapon flew through the air, and the Desian saw it coming towards him with great speed. He froze out of fear, and when the axe hit him with its wooden handle, a loud 'thump' was heard, when the unconscious body of his hit the ground.

_Strike, though I feel sorry for the lad, he's gonna get busted when he wakes up._

Dirk quickly ran over to see if the man was really unconscious, and when he lifted the helmet, with a slight dent in it, he could see the pointed ears. "Poor lad, ye could've lived a happier life than being a slave of those cursed Desians."

Dirk picked up his axe, and ran back to Lloyd, who had, as he asked, stayed at the same spot. Noishe, however, had run off somewhere when the Desian got distracted by Dirk. Lloyd looked up at him with big eyes, and said: "Wow! You're a dwarf! That's so cool!"

Dirk smiled while looking down at the boy, and said: "Sure am, lad. Heh, so where has ya animal friend gone to?" He looked around, but didn't see any white or green between the forest trees.

Lloyd tugged Dirk's sleeve, and said: "Noishy ran that way!" He pointed somewhere between the dark tree-trunks, and Dirk groaned when seeing the direction the little boy pointed. Noishe had probably run back to the woman's body, and that place would be swarmed by Desians by now.

"What's wrong mr. Dwarf?" Lloyd asked when he groaned. "Is there something wrong? Are you sick?" His eyes grew wide. "Did that scary man make you sick?"

Dirk smiled at Lloyd once again, and said: "No one's made me sick, I ain't sick at all. Let's go find Noishe." The toddler smiled at his words. "Yeah! Let's go get Noishy and then wait for daddy!" Dirk almost flinched at the word daddy.

_The man probably thought both his wife and son had died, there's no way he would still be here without me or the Desians having seen him! How am I going to tell the poor boy his dad's gone?_

Dirk shook that thought off his mind, he would take care of that later, first he had to find the animal Lloyd adored so much. But that was going to be one hard task though, if the Desians were still there.

Dirk firmly placed his feet in the soft ground, and still he held Lloyd's hand, just to make sure he wouldn't get lost or anything. The tiny hand in his was something he had never experienced before, and before all of this happened he wouldn't have wanted to. But something changed him, either it was the boy's innocent look or the fact that he promised he would take care of him.

_Ridiculous, how can I grow attached to a human child? And an annoying one as well._

As he paced forward, Lloyd happily chattered about all kinds of stuff.

"Mr. Dwarf, what's that? Do you know when daddy's going to be back? You know, Noishy will let me ride on him sometimes. That's really fun! You should try it too. I bet Noishy can carry you, you don't look very heavy. I bet that's going to be fun if we both sit on him. Do you like playing tag? I do! It's so much fun! And when..."

Lloyd's voice trailed off as they had almost reached the area close to the foot of the cliff. Dirk gestured him to be quiet, and Lloyd did so, staring in awe at Dirk, who focused and then heard voices, a lot of them, disturbing the once tranquil area.

"Damnit, where has that Exsphere gone! Haven't you found it yet? It can't be too far off! Someone must've taken it! Immediately kill everyone you see, we NEED that Exsphere if we don't wanna get our heads chopped off by Lord Kvar himself!"

Dirk kept listening, not knowing what to do. From what they said it didn't seem like they've seen Noishe, so he wasn't there, but then again, he had been afraid of the Desian that found them, so it wasn't logical if he had come here anyway.

He was about to turn around when he heard something and froze. "Damnit, what's with that stupid animal? Let's just kill it! It's only getting in our way anyway!" And after that an all too familiar whine followed.

_Damn that animal! I should've tied it to a tree or something!_

Dirk doubted what to do, would he just have to leave Noishe behind and get Lloyd to the house, or try and save Noishe and risk himself and Lloyd getting hurt, or more likely, get themselves killed? For some strange reason he chose the latter option.

As stealthy as a dwarf can be he approached the place, which was, as he had expected and heard, swarmed with Desians. They were everywhere, searching behind every rock and corner for the Expshere in his pocket. And there, in the midst of all, was Noishe, faithfully sitting next to Anna, who had cold-bloodedly been covered by a blanket of some sort, since everybody was getting nervous with the dead body around, although they had to deal with deaths everyday in their human ranches.

Dirk stared, and didn't know how to get Noishe out of there without drawing everyone's attention. Lloyd was staring at Noishe, and at all of the Desians. "So many scary people!" He pointed at all the Desians and looked up at Dirk. "What's Noishy doing?" Dirk raised his shoulders slightly, indicating he didn't know. Lloyd looked at Noishe again, and opened his mouth, about to scream something to the animal.

Fortunately Dirk just looked down at him and quickly slapped one gloved hand against Lloyd's mouth, pulling him backwards, as Lloyd almost choked. A few feet further he let go of Lloyd, who instantly started spitting on the floor and stamping his feet saying: "Blegh! Your glove is really smelly and it tastes really really bad! Gah! Do you ever wash it at all!" He kept on muttering about Dirk's glove, his voice seeming to echo between the trees, along with the sound of his stamping boots.

"Sssst! Do ya want the scary people to come here and get ya and then take ye off to the ranch? I promised ya mother to take care of ye, not practically hand y'over to the Desians!" Dirk said in an angry tone, he was getting frustrated with this boy around.

Lloyd looked at him with big eyes, which started to tear. "You're a mean dwarf! I don't like you! Noishy is scared there, he has to come back to me! I don't care if the scary people see me, I wanna save Noishy!" One tear fell down his face, and soon others followed, coupled with loud cries.

Dirk paled. "Ssssssst! It's alright, we'll get Noishe back! If you stop crying I'll save Noishe for ya." He heard himself say.

_Drat, this is the most annoying little brat I've ever seen. He must've been really spoiled by his parents. Why did I just say that? This lad's got me going crazy, that's for sure. And now I'm supposed to help his pet outta there?_

Dirk sighed, and leaned against a tree trying to think of some way to save Noishe. Lloyd was just looking around him, and watched the open spot between the trees longingly, wishing to be with his friend and mom.

Suddenly Dirk heard a lot of footsteps leaving the area, though he never heard someone say anything. Astonished he jumped up and crept between the trees, making sure he was out of sight. The place was abandoned, though the woman's body was still there, as Noishe was too.

Lloyd wanted to run towards Noishe and cuddle him, but something didn't feel right to Dirk.

_Why had they decided to leave all of a sudden? Could it be a trap? But that can't be, I knocked out the only Desian that saw us!_

Dirk firmly pressed Lloyd against him: "Just wait a minute, lil' lad. Don't worry, ya pet will be fine, but we won't if we go out there." Lloyd was mad, that was for sure, and he let the dwarf know as well.

"Grrr, let me go you mean dwarf! I wanna be with Noishy! We will search for daddy! I wanna go there!" He kept saying, and for Dirk's luck, he wasn't saying it all too loudly, for he wouldn't want to be caught by several Desians at the same time. He could handle one, but 10 of them... he doubted it.

"Now listen lad! If ya wanna go out there and die, that's fine with me, but don't come back here crying and saying that you're hurt, cos' I warned ya! And ya mom still wanted me to protect you from the scary men, so be a good boy and wait here!" Dirk put up his most dangerous and deadly voice, which was enough to silence Lloyd, who was now scared of the dwarf, and only wanted to be with his parents again.

"Hmpf!" Was the only thing Lloyd said as he let himself fall down on the ground, covered with leaves. He looked up at the rays of sunlight that managed to peek through the thick carpet of leaves, and tried to 'catch' them. It was his way of entertaining himself, as he thought the dwarf was no fun at all.

_Hmm, if I'll have to raise him, it's going to take a LOT of time and punishment!_

Dirk sighed, still carefully listening to the silence, trying to discover whether there were still Desians around or not. After what seemed like an eternity to Lloyd, he finally stood up and said: "I guess it's safe now, you can go to your friend." Lloyd jumped up, and ran away. Dirk slowly followed after him.

_Hmpf, so little patience, I even remember me not being that impatient or annoying._

He walked on slow paced, but stopped when hearing the child communicate with his friend.

"Noishy, why did you run away? That mean dwarf beat the scary man! It was cool, but he's really mean to me! Let's go find daddy!" Said the voice of the little boy.

"Whine!" Came the answer from his animal friend, in an agreeing way.

_Wait a minute, how am I supposed to find them when they just run off searching for his dad who's long gone?_

Dirk quickly stepped out just as Lloyd disappeared between the shadow of the trees on Noishe's back. Dirk ran after them, dragging along his axe, which he was too tired to hold in his hand properly, so it just left a trail on the ground.

"Hey Lloyd! Wait! Let's first go to my house 'kay lad? Aren't ya hungry?" Dirk desperately tried, really not in the mood to run after them all morning. He heard the animal stop, and turn around, running straight back at him...

"Woah no wait! Don't ta-" Too late, he had already been tackled by Noishe, who was now standing above him, with a cheerful Lloyd bouncing up and down on his back.

"Wow Noishy! That was cool! But... I'm really hungry!" He pointed at his belly and started rubbing it, to prove what he said.

"Well, if you get this... thing off me, I can make ya sandwiches!" Dirk tried his friendliest smile, and Lloyd seemed to be thinking aloud.

"I am really hungry, but you were mean to me!" He shouted so loud Dirk could've sworn it would have made him deaf.

_Argh, this kid's getting me frustrated! He's so stubborn, damn it._

"I'm sorry, there, I apologized, now, get him off me!" The dwarf yelled out just as loud, growing angry with the innocent little boy and his friend.

"Well, if you'll be nice to me, okay!" Lloyd put on his broadest grin, and asked Noishy to step off the little man, which Noishe did.

Dirk quickly stood up before Lloyd would change his mind and ask his pet to charge at him again. He tried to get all the dust off his clothes, in which he didn't succeed, and then led the boy and the animal through the forest back to his house.

All the way back Lloyd kept on talking of course, mostly about unimportant stuff, like playing games and such, but sometimes he would come up with the same questions, over and over again: "When is daddy going to pick me up? Why was mommy sleeping? Why did the scary man want to hurt you? Why did the scary mans cover mommy with a blanket? It was a really ugly blanket too! I bet my mommy would think it was ugly too!" And after asking such serious question he would continue ranting about more unimportant stuff.

Dirk just kept walking, he was about to make lunch when he heard the cry, and his stomach was remembering him all the way back. He didn't say a word to Lloyd or Noishe, except for some nodding. Apparently Lloyd didn't mind, cause he just kept on talking. Noishe sometimes whined or howled, but was mostly quiet, listening to Lloyd.

_Hmmm, would there ever be a time when he will shut his mouth? Geez, if I'd have to live with him like that for one day I would freak out already. How were his parents able to handle him? But then again, this nonsense may be found adorable by some humans. Humans... such strange beings._

And after a very long walk, getting lost several times because Lloyd's friend ran off and walking around in circles for ages, they finally reached Dirk's house. By that time the evening had fallen and the sky was purple-coloured, and even Lloyd was getting tired, silently sitting on Noishe's back, wagging along with the movements the animal made. When they finally reached Dirk's home, he opened his eyes, and looked at the house in awe, starting all over again.

"Wowwie mr. Dwarf! Is that your house? It's really cool, will daddy be picking me up here? How do you and daddy know each other anyway. I haven't seen you before." And there he went again. Dirk just rolled his eyes as the stream of words fell over him, he didn't even listen to him anyway. He carefully lifted Lloyd from Noishe's back, and gestured the animal to stay outside, while taking Lloyd inside, putting him down again, and go around the house lighting the candles.

Lloyd just stood in the doorway, and looked around his new environment. The place was built with wood, that was obvious. There was a platform where some chairs and a round table stood, and in the left corner was a stove and a workshop where Dirk would do his job. Right in front of him across the small building were stairs. From upstairs he could hear Dirk clattering around lighting all the candles. The candles downstairs were lit, and they gave the room a warm, cosy, appearance, dipping it in honey and yellow hues.

Dirk came down the stairs a few minutes later, and found the boy laying in the doorway sleeping soundly. He had to smile at the sight, as the infant lay there with his hands folded under his head, like a pillow, and his legs pulled up against his small body, as if he wanted to make a ball of himself.

_As he's laying there right now, he don't look like he's the most annoying lil' brat I've ever seen. Maybe I'll even like the kid someday._

Dirk looked around, where was he going to lay the child? Ah well, he could live without his bed for one day. He gently lifted the little boy and with Lloyd in his arms he ascended the stairs, trying his best not to wake him. Upstairs, he lay Lloyd on his bed, covered him with a blanket, and smiled again at the peaceful sight.

After that he went outside and saw that Noishe had found a spot next to the house in the shadows, and was also sleeping soundly, his snoring sounding like a purring cat. Dirk smiled, and unconscious of doing so, he caressed the animal, who suddenly purred out of satisfaction, and then the rhythmic sound of snoring came back.

The dwarf looked up, saw the endless blanket of the night spread out over his head, stretching out over the entire world, filled with little lights that flickered as he looked up. His smile got broader, and he sat down next to Noishe, admiring the stars. While enjoying their infinite beauty and loveliness, he felt his mind and spirit closing itself, as he lay down, and they travelled to another world, leaving behind his body. And in that world, he experienced many dreams he would forget when he would get waked up by the animal next to him the next morning.

End ----------

A/N Well that's all for chapter 2, I'm not particularly happy with this chapter though. It doesn't feel good, but I'll promise I'll try to make it up to you with chapter 3! So I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter though, and leave a review!


	4. Tears

**Story of a lifetime**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Tales of Symphonia

_**Warning: SPOILERS!**_

A/N Well here's chapter 3, I think this is the most angsty chapter in the story, and I didn't really look forward to writing this, but ah well, let's get this over with. Anyway, I placed the response to reviews after the end, it seemed a more appropriate place. Enjoy reading!

Chapter 3: Tears ----------

The next morning came quickly as the dark blanket of the night made place for rays of sunlight peeking through the silver coloured clouds. They reached a certain house, surrounded by trees and flowers, and shone their light upon a dwarf who lay outside sleeping peacefully, and the doglike creature standing over him.

Suddenly the creature let out a bark, and started poking the dwarf in his side. The other began mumbling in his sleep, rolling over to his side, but the animal kept poking him. The dwarf's mumbling got louder and abruptly he jumped up, which caused him to crash into the pet, that ran away whining afterwards.

"Aargh, what was that?" Said Dirk, while rubbing his head that ached from the head-butt. He was still sleepy, so he couldn't remember what happened last night, until he heard a screech coming from inside his house. The memories of the previous day came flooding back, and he quickly ran into his house, to find a confused little child standing in the middle of the house looking around him.

Lloyd felt scared when he woke up the next morning, lying in a strange bed in a room he didn't know, and when he walked downstairs, he found his surroundings unfamiliar. His memory couldn't handle the events of the day before, and he was totally flushed when he saw Dirk standing in the doorway looking at him.

But when Noishe ran in after Dirk, all of his memories returned, and he let out another cry. "Noishy! Is daddy back?" He asked his dog, who looked at him with sadness in its eyes. Lloyd started patting the animal and mumbled about when his dad was coming to pick him up.

Dirk watched the scene as it seemed that every word Lloyd said left a scar on his heart, as he made the decision that he should tell Lloyd about his mom and dad now, for it would only get worse the longer he would keep it to himself. He sighed, looked at the boy once more, tried to keep that smiling face in his mind, and cleared his throat, stepping towards the boy.

"Lad? There's something I gotta tell ya..." He spoke, his voice trembling with hidden fear and distress. Lloyd looked up and those brown orbs dug their way into Dirk's eyes with such intense sorrow he felt like he had to cry.

"Mr. Dwarf? What's wrong? You look sad..." He said, his voice trailing off as Dirk felt his eyelashes getting wet.

"Ah lad, come sit down, and I'll tell ya." Dirk heard himself say, he didn't have control over his voice anymore, and as he sat down, he tried to get rid of the invisible crop forming in his throat, that stopped him from talking.

Lloyd plopped himself on a chair across Dirk's place, and thoughtlessly stroked Noishe, all the while looking at the dwarf with a questioning and yet sorry look. He had no idea what was going on, but he felt that the other was sad, which automatically made him sad as well.

Dirk watched Lloyd stroking Noishe, and sighed.

_Let's just get this over with..._

"Lad, 'bout your dad..." He started, but when he saw the hope lighting up in Lloyd's eyes, he felt like he was getting strangled. The pressure on his throat was unbearable, and when he opened his mouth to speak again, nothing came out. Sweat started appearing on his face, covering his entire face and neck.

Lloyd watched him with fear as Dirk's face slowly turned red, and suddenly said: "Mr. Dwarf, why are you all red?"

Dirk heard his innocent voice filled with curiosity and a bit of worry, and felt all of his muscles relax. The boy wouldn't hate him if he told what happened to his parents, at least, that's what he hoped for. He took another deep breath, and started.

"Lad, your dad...," Lloyd's eyes grew wide when Dirk mentioned his dad, "...ain't comin' back to get you..." Dirk could feel how Lloyd's heart skipped a beat and heard him gasp for air.

"But... daddy has to come back! He promised! Daddy promised to me!" Lloyd yelled, but though his voice sounded convincing, Dirk didn't fail to notice the faint sound of his voice trembling with sadness, and it made him feel like his heart was getting ripped apart.

"I'm really sorry for ya lad, but he won't..." Dirk heard himself say, and he mentally slapped himself for telling the poor boy. Lloyd sat there with his face burried in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably and Noishe glared daggers at Dirk for telling him, it seemed as if he knew about the boy's dad not coming back, but he didn't show that to Lloyd, to keep him happy. Now Dirk had ruined his attempts at keeping the boy happy, and Noishe didn't appreciate that.

Dirk was shocked by the hard expression those black orbs wore, but he nevertheless continued.

_If I don't keep this up now, it'll only get harder and harder in the future._

"And ya poor mom, she... ain't coming back too." He spoke, and his words were like knives for Lloyd, as he rolled himself in a ball on the floor, like he was trying to protect himself from everything Dirk said.

"No... I-I saw mommy! She was sleeping!" Lloyd protested, though very weakly. Dirk smiled a fake and very faint smile, as he said:

"I'm really sorry lad, but ya mom, she's gone somewhere else. She ain't normally sleeping, she'll be sleeping forever now."

Lloyd looked up at him in disbelief, his face stained with tears and trails of those that already fell. "I... I-I want mommy back!" He said, and with that he stood up and wanted to walk out the door, but fell when he stepped off the platform.

"Ouch! I want mommy!" He screamed, and started pounding on the floor with his little fists. Noishe quickly ran over and started licking his face, trying to wash away the salty tears, and whined in sympathy and sorrow. He had been very fond of Lloyd's parents, as they were the ones that originally found him, well, one of them at least. Lloyd buried his face in the dog's fur and sobbed while mumbling: "No, mommy and daddy have to come back! Daddy promised me! He promised! He said the bad men wouldn't hurt me or mommy! He promised!"

Dirk watched the scene with his face stained with tears. The grownup dwarf had let his tears go free too after Lloyd wanted to run out the door. He didn't feel like a tough dwarf at that moment, more like a little boy that didn't get his candy, but at least a hundred times worse.

Suddenly he heard himself sobbing, and got a hold of himself. "Damnit, if I can't even keep myself together, how's he supposed to do that?" He told himself strictly, trying to push away the tears that wanted to burst out. He took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and wiped away the tears trembling on his eyelashes.

_Come on Dirk, you gotta be strong now, you gotta support the lad!_

"Lad, are ya alright?" He asked, but immediately slapped his forehead, of course the boy wasn't alright, what did he look like?

_Damn you Dirk, you must be blind or something not to see that! Hmm, and you wanna raise this child?_

Dirk grabbed himself together and took a step in the direction of the boy, asking: "Don'tcha want something to drink lad?" He took another insecure step, and was now close to the little sobbing boy. Noishe glared at him again and Dirk stumbled back a few steps. The dog's eyes seemed to say: Stay away and leave this to me, you can't handle it! You don't even know the boy and he doesn't trust you!

Dirk stared into nothingness for a few seconds, before he turned around to get the boy a glass of water. It was the best he could do for now, that... thing wouldn't let him come any closer.

Noishe whined and pushed his nose in Lloyd's face, trying to comfort the toddler to the best of his abilities. Lloyd however, was not in the mood to play, and pushed the animal's nose away. "No Noishe, I don't wanna play."

Noishe stared at the infant with his eyes widened, the boy hadn't called him Noishy! That was the first time he didn't use his special nickname, and Noishe tilted his head, watching the child with sorrow and hatred for the dwarf who had brought Lloyd in this state.

Just then Dirk returned with a glass of water, and Noishe glared at him, never planning to leave Dirk out of his sight. Dirk raised an eyebrow at the dog, tried to ignore him and walked towards Lloyd with the glass.

"Hey boy, wanna drink something to calm down?" He asked as he offered the sobbing toddler the glass. Lloyd looked up, his eyes red and filled with an intense sadness and disappointment it made Dirk want to cry again.

_NO! You ain't gonna cry in front of the lad! Come on Dirk, pull yourself together dammit!_

"I wanna go home..." Was all Lloyd answered, and with his answer he stood up and wanted to walk out the door again, hadn't Dirk grabbed him by his arm and pulled him back.

"Lad... ya don't have a home anymore..." He heard himself reply, and stared at the wooden floor in shame. How could one cause so much pain to another with words? Dirk always reasoned words don't hurt, but he was wrong. They did. And a lot too. It hit himself too. His words, caused him pain, but he didn't know why. He didn't even know the boy's parents or the little boy, and yet telling him the truth pained Dirk's heart. He admitted in defeat that humans weren't those sentimental fools he thought they were.

He suddenly noticed that his hand was floating above the boy's back and it patted him. He was surprised, he didn't like having physical contact with other creatures, and especially not with humans. Though here he was patting the boy's back like he'd done it for years.

Lloyd looked up at the dwarf in wonder as he kept patting his back, and a soft sob escaped his lips. But then he remembered his goal again, and pulled away from the dwarf, running out of the house.

Dirk saw him going outside and he froze, what was the boy planning to do? He quickly ran after him, and saw the boy looking around, like he was searching for something.

"Where's mommy? I wanna go to sleep with mommy!" He yelled at no one in particular. Dirk shot past him and grabbed his hand.

"Lad! You ain't going nowhere! I promised ya mother I'd take care of ya, and I won't let ya run off into the forest when the Desians are still 'round there! Ya'll just have to stay here! I promise I'll get ya mother later, but you can't run around now, you heard me!" He shouted, and to his surprise and shock used his angriest voice. Lloyd watched the dwarf in horror, and stood there with his eyes widened in shock.

"I-I'm sorry lad, didn't mean to be rough on you. You must've got a pretty hard time, wanna come inside again?" He said, his voice now gentle and worried, but it didn't pay off, as Lloyd answered:

"No, I wanna go home!" And he started sobbing again. All the while Noishe had stood in front of the window watching the scene, and now that Dirk had made Lloyd cry again he ran out with a bark and smashed into Dirk, which caused him to fall in the creek that streamed past his house.

He whined with satisfaction as he watched the dwarf climb on the grass cursing and sending the dog death glares. Noishe didn't care however and whined at Lloyd, signalling with his head to climb on his back.

"Are we going to see mommy?" Lloyd asked, and as Noishe nodded at him he jumped and climbed on the dog's back. Dirk watched as he ran past them into the deep, dark forest, and he cursed again.

"Damn that dog! When I'll find them I'll get that damned animal!" And with that he strolled back into the house to put on dry clothes and prepare to chase after the two that just fled.

End ----------

A/N Well this was the shortest chapter so far, and I'm not counting the prologue xD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and this was the last chapter for 2/3 weeks, so the next update will take a little longer. Anyway, leave a review!

Response to reviewers:

Melody of Shadow: Thanks, yeah I love the little Lloyd with all his innocent cuteness

MoonCannon: Yup, I personally think Dirk changed a lot when he raised Lloyd, that he would be more open to humans.

Mayura Nacht: Thank you! Hehe, nobody can resist toddler Lloyd, not even our tough dwarf Dirk xD


	5. Rest

**Story of a lifetime**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

_**WARNING: SPOILERS! **_

A/N After a year or so I finally decided to play ToS again, and I remembered I still had this story up, so here it is! I still have to finish the game though, and I've forgotten many things, so some stuff may be inaccurate. Anyway, enjoy!

_Italics_ - thoughts

Chapter 4: Rest ----------

Cursing, Dirk made his way through the forest, trying to follow the sound of loud thumps as Noishe ran through the thick wood. He cursed himself for not locking the door and keeping the boy inside, as he should have expected the boy to try to break out and look for his mother. Anyway, it couldn't be helped now. The best he could do was find the boy and bring him back, to safety. As for that animal… Dirk would figure something to do with him later. Right now his priority was to find Lloyd.

Lloyd, meanwhile, was trying to convince himself that his mommy was only sleeping, and would wake up any time now. The blood on his clothes wasn't real, it was his imagination. And his daddy would come back for him, he was sure of it. He patted Noishe and wiped away the tears. "Everything will be back to normal Noishy! We can play games again and daddy will show us the stars!" He smiled at that thought. Ever after daddy had showed him the stars and told him their names, he had been fascinated by them, and would always ask daddy to tell him more about it. Daddy would laugh at his curiosity and tell him everything he wanted to know.

But, Lloyd hadn't eaten for a day, and as his tummy rumbled, he wrapped his arms around it and tried to make the feeling go away by pushing against it. "It hurts Noishy… I need food!" He told his pet, but Noishe only growled and continued his way through the forest. He sniffed the air, trying to pick up the trail of Anna's blood, but he couldn't find it. So he just kept running around, trying to find the place they left her the day before.

Meanwhile, Dirk had arrived at the cliff, and to his relief Anna's body was still there. He carefully tried to lift the body onto his back, but Anna was bigger than him, so that didn't work. He came to the conclusion he would need the help of Noishe to carry her back to his house. So he sat down, looking around, hoping the toddler and his big friend would come here soon. While he sat there he thought over what had happened, and came to the conclusion he would need another way of telling Lloyd his parents wouldn't come back.

Noishe had finally picked up the trail of Anna's blood, and now ran as fast as he could to get there. It hurt him to see Lloyd like this, and he would do everything to cheer him up. But he was in for a surprise when he arrived there, cause Dirk was sitting there! Noishe let out a growl of anger and glared at him, but Lloyd just jumped off and ran toward Anna, throwing himself on her and cuddling her. Dirk watched as the child muttered inaudible words and a smile spread across his face.

Suddenly he sat up and looked at Dirk, a twinkle in his eyes. "See Mr. Dwarf, mommy is just sleeping!" And he continued hugging the lifeless body. But his tummy started rumbling again, and Dirk heard it. "Lad, are ye hungry?" Dirk asked, though that was quite an unnecessary question. Lloyd looked up at Dirk again, and nodded. "How 'bout we get ye some food, and then ye can go look for ya dad?" He asked, hoping he had chosen the right words. Lloyd jumped up and smiled. "Are you a good cook Mr. Dwarf? My daddy always told me dwarves can't cook!" _The nerve of that lad is amazing. I really hafta teach him some manners when I get to it._

Dirk growled, but answered him anyway. "Why dontcha come with me and we'll find out if I can cook or not?" He tried in his sweetest voice. Of course, being a dwarf hasn't granted him with a sweet nor soft voice, so it came out rather squeaky. Lloyd laughed at the dwarf's voice and answered. "Okay Mr. Dwarf! I'll go with you and you give me tasty food!" _Finally._ Dirk winked Noishe over, pointing at Anna's body at the same time. Noishe understood what he had to do, and came over obediently, silently standing in front of Dirk. Dirk lifted Anna's body on the creature's back, and made sure she wouldn't fall off.

Now he led the two of them through the forest to his house, holding Lloyd's arm with one hand and tugging on Noishe's fur softly with the other. All the while, he would listen for any suspicious sounds, but they made it to his house without any further casualties.

Lloyd ran in the house and climbed on one of the chairs on the platform, still holding his hands against his rumbling tummy. Dirk followed in soon after, after he had covered Anna's body with a blanket. He smiled at Lloyd and started searching through the cabinets, looking for something he could prepare for the toddler. Lloyd just fooled around with Noishe, running around the house and inspecting every interesting item he could find. Finally he settled with a small hammer, and poked Noishe with the wooden handle.

Finally Dirk managed to cook up something decent, as most of the food was gone. Dirk didn't visit Iselia often, and when he did his visits were short and he would always come home and find out he had forgotten to buy several things. Anyway, he put the kettle with soup in front of Lloyd and gave him a spoon, taking away the hammer at the same time. "Ye gotta be careful with that lad, ye might end up hurting someone. Now, enjoy!"

Lloyd grabbed the spoon, and started eating. He even fed Noishe a little, who didn't particularly like the soup Dirk made, but the child would stuff the spoon in his mouth, forcing him to eat. "Tasty food! Noishy must eat too!" He would say, while pushing the spoon in Noishe's mouth. Noishe howled and ran outside after a while, hoping to escape Lloyd's feeding.

Finally the kettle was empty, and Lloyd let out a sigh of relief. "That was good Mr. Dwarf! I guess my daddy was wrong about dwarves." Dirk grinned. "No one can resist my famous dwarven stew! Maybe I'll learn ye how to make it later." Lloyd's face brightened after hearing these words. "Oooh, would you do that mr. Dwarf? That will be fun!" Dirk smiled as he patted the small boy's head. _I never knew human children were that adorable and innocent._ "Sure I will lad, now, whaddya wanna do?"

Lloyd looked around, searching Noishe, but Noishe had run off again. Then he let out a long yawn and said: "I'm tired, can I do sleepy sleepy?" To accompany his words he laid his head on the table and closed his eyes. "Aye lad, I'll take ye to my bed." And Dirk carefully lifted the sleepy child and took him upstairs, to his own bed. As he tucked him in he patted his head again and wished him a good night. Lloyd answered with another yawn and fell asleep, snoring softly. Dirk looked at the child with adoration, and then stood up and went outside.

Noishe had dragged the blanket off Anna's body and was licking her face, for no apparent reason. Dirk saw this and raised an eyebrow. This dog didn't seem like any other dog he had ever seen. It was far more… human. _Anyway, I'd better do this while the lad's still sleeping._ And with a sigh he set to cleaning up the body as best as he could, and after he finished that, he put the blanket back on, after telling Noishe to not remove it. Noishe whined but nodded, and dropped himself on the ground, resting his head on his paws.

Dirk went in the forest to look for a decent rock he could make a gravestone out. He felt the woman needed a proper grave, cause the short time he had known her, he could see in her eyes she was a good and honest woman, who didn't deserve to come to her end like that. After a while of wandering, he found a perfect smooth and square stone, and dragged it back to his house.

Back at his house he found Lloyd and Noishe soundly asleep, and he smiled. The two of them sure were a cute bunch. _If only they were that cute while awake._ He grabbed his tools and started working on Anna's gravestone, trying not to wake up the sleeping boy.

It was night when Lloyd woke up, yawning and stretching out his little arms. He got out of bed, and walked down the stairs, to find Dirk sleeping on the grave stone. He tugged on his beard, but that only caused Dirk to roll over and continue sleeping. Lloyd shrugged and walked outside, only to find Noishe walking around restlessly. He called for him and Noishe came running over, licking his face.

"Hey Noishy! Where did mommy go? Have you seen her?" He asked him, a puzzled look on his face. Noishe whined and looked at the blanket for a moment, before turning his head to Lloyd again and answer his puzzled look with a questioning one. He had decided to not cause the dwarf any more trouble for a while, after all he'd done for Lloyd. Lloyd's eyes grew big and he petted Noishe. "Mommy will come back… right Noishy?" Noishe licked his face again, and pointed his nose at the sky.

Lloyd looked up and saw the twinkling stars. "Wow Noishy! There's so many of them tonight! I wonder where daddy is…" Lloyd sat down and looked up at all the stars, thinking about everything daddy had told him about them. Noishe sat down next to him, and looked at the stars as well.

Suddenly Dirk came out of the house too, and saw the two of them sitting on the ground, looking at the sky, and he looked up himself. When he saw all those stars, he realized he had never really looked at them before, and without a sound, he walked over to the two and sat down next to them. Lloyd turned around to Dirk and smiled. "Aren't the stars pretty Mr. Dwarf?" Dirk smiled back, and said: "They sure are lad. And the name's Dirk. You can call me Dirk." Lloyd laughed. "Dirk? That's a funny name! Alright, then you're Mr. Dirk from now on!"

End ----------

A/N Well, I hope that wasn't too bad, cause I haven't written anything for a long time, so I'll need some time to get into it again. Anyway, tell me what you think and what could be improved. It would be appreciated!


	6. Hurt

**Story of a lifetime **

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

**_WARNING: SPOILERS!_**

****

A/NHere's chapter 5. Enjoy!****

_Italics_ - thoughts

Chapter 5: Hurt ----------

That night, Lloyd told Dirk everything about his parents, and especially, the stars. Dirk was amazed at the knowledge the little one had, considering his age. That's when Dirk realized he must really love the stars, cause he seemed very impatient and forgetful with everything else. Dirk smiled down on him as Lloyd pointed out several stars and told him their names. _You're full of surprises aren't ye lad?_

Lloyd looked up at Dirk, saw the grin and the corners of his mouth dropped. "What are you laughing about?" He asked Dirk with a bold tone. Dirk grinned and answered: "You sure know a lot about the stars, lad. Perhaps I oughtta teach ye some of my knowledge too."

The toddler's eyes grew big at these words. "Oooh, do you mean like, work with tools and make stuff?" He asked with a tinge of hope. Dirk nodded. "Sure do, lad. If ye'd like I'll teach ya when you're older." Lloyd jumped up and started dancing around. "That would be AWESOME Mr. Dirk!" He pulled Noishe's ears and crawled on his back, still jumping up and down. "Did you hear Noishy? Mr. Dirk is gonna learn me new stuffs! I'm so excited!" Noishe whined and tried to get the jumping child off, but it wouldn't work. Dirk looked at Lloyd, quite surprised. Then he looked at Noishe and asked: "Is he always that excited?" Noishe whined and nodded.

Dirk smiled. "Lad, it's been a long night. Maybe we should go to bed now." And after these words he lifted Lloyd from Noishe's back and brought him to his bed. After he tucked him in, he wanted to leave, but the child pulled his arms and looked at him pleadingly. "Please Mr. Dirk, can you sing me a song? My mommy always sang me songs and I can't sleep well without a song." Dirk stared at him and his mouth dropped. _That boy is crazy._ He cleared his throat. "Eh.. I don't know any songs, sorry lad. G'night." And with these words he walked off, hoping that would shush the toddler.

But it didn't. Lloyd's eyes became teary, and soon the sounds of his whining filled the room. Dirk turned around, saw the crying child, and sighed. "Aight lad, I'll sing ye a song, but only if you don't laugh kay?" Lloyd nodded, a serious look on his face.

Dirk cleared his throat, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Ehm… Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top.  
Eh, when the wind blows, the cradle will rock.

Hmm, when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.

And down will come baby… Eh, cradle and all."

Dirk coughed and opened his eyes, only to find Lloyd on the verge of bursting out laughing. His cheeks turned a bright red, and he left the room, humiliated. Lloyd, on the other hand, had a great time laughing at Dirk's voice combined with a lullaby, and even Noishe, who was sleeping outside, heard his singing voice and couldn't help barking out cheerfully.

Dirk, sitting at the table with a glass of water, closed his eyes and grumbled. He had never felt that humiliated before. _That brat has been way too spoiled for way too long._ Suddenly Lloyd's head popped up in front of him, and Dirk fell off his chair, completely surprised by the toddler.

Lloyd smiled and crawled in front of Dirk, still smiling. "I'm sorry for laughing Mr. Dirk. I promise I won't do it again, if you tuck me in again. Please?" He said, with pleading eyes. Dirk looked at the child, and he couldn't help but forgive him. He smiled and answered: "Aight lad, now it's time for you to sleep, and NO MORE LULLABIES." Lloyd grinned and winked at Noishe, who was standing in the doorway. "Alright Mr. Dirk!"

So Dirk lead him upstairs and to his bed once again and tucked him in. Lloyd giggled as Dirk's beard touched his nose. "That tickles Mr. Dirk! How come you have hair on your face? Daddy didn't have hair." Dirk raised an eyebrow. "Yer dad didn't have eyebrows?" Lloyd gasped at him. "Eyebrows are made of hair? I didn't know that!" And he continued touching his eyebrows, amazed at the new information he had just gained.

Dirk looked at him with a smile on his face. _It is quite the adorable lad sometimes. _And then the toddler got tired, and fell asleep. Dirk mindlessly stroked his hair while looking at the stars outside, and sighed. _I really hope yer dad will show up someday lad. I really do._ After, he went downstairs and outside, looking at the stars while trying to memorize everything Lloyd told him. Finally, he got so sleepy he fell asleep while sitting outside, a soothing cool breeze blowing.

The next morning, Dirk was awakened by something white, hairy and wet on his face. When he realized what was going on he jumped up and yelled at Noishe, who had been licking his face. As he wiped the drool off his face, he walked inside cursing at Noishe, who ran after him barking loudly. Dirk turned around and glared at him. "Shush it! The lad is still sleeping ya know." Noishe cocked his head to one side and looked behind Dirk.

Lloyd, who had been sneaking up behind him, put a finger to his lips. "Sssssh." And suddenly he leapt on Dirk's back and grabbed his beard. "Good morning Mr. Dirk!" He laughed. Dirk walked around, struggling to get the little boy off his back, and fell flat on his face as he tripped over the platform. Lloyd laughed even harder and got off his back. "Mr. Dirk you're funny! Isn't he funny Noishy?" And he patted Noishe's head while standing next to him.

Dirk came upright and glared at the two, infuriated. "No more joking around here, lad! This ain't ya parents' place and I'm not ye parent! Now that they're gone ye'll hafta stick to MY rules." He yelled, with a much harder voice than he meant to. He mentally cursed at himself as the toddler's lower lip started trembling, and Noishe glared at him with so much fury. Dirk cast his eyes at the floor as he said: "Eh, I'm sorry lad. Didn't mean to be so rough on ye."

But Lloyd didn't even hear his words, he rushed outside on his little legs, supported by Noishe. "You're a mean dwarf! I hate you!" That last sentence hit Dirk harder than anything else. The child hated him, and yet it had looked at him with such friendliness. Dirk smacked his forehead. _Argh, what have ye done now, you fool! _He rushed after them, only to find Lloyd sitting at the creek with Noishe licking his face.

Noishe was licking away his tears. Dirk really wished he could control his temper now. _Look what you did now! Ye made the poor boy cry, like he didn't suffer enough already! Get over ye pride already and go calm him down! _Dirk shook his head. He hesitated as he walked to the two. _What should I say? _As he came closer Noishe looked up and glared at Dirk again, telling him through his eyes to leave them alone.

Dirk halted and looked right into those humanlike eyes, pleadingly. _Please let me apologize! _Noishe's look softened and he shook his head towards Lloyd, as if he were telling Dirk to come closer. So Dirk slowly approached the boy, who was still silently weeping. He put a hand on one of the shaking shoulders and his voice, filled with sorrow and grief, whispered: "I'm sorry lad. I shouldn't have told you off like that. I apologize, and promise it won't happen again. Will ye forgive me?"

Lloyd kept staring at the water, looking at his and Dirk's reflection. "Are daddy and mommy… ever coming back?" He asked, his voice trembling with insecurity. "Why did they leave me? Don't they love me…?" Dirk closed his eyes, trying to swallow down the upcoming tears. "They love ye more than anything else in the world lad. But they're not coming for ye for a while. Ye see.. your dad ehm… went to look for ye mom. Cause ya mom went into some sorta sleep, and she can't wake up… So your dad has to go find her in another world and wake her. And it takes a while to find her cause the other world is really big. But they'll come back."

Lloyd looked up at the sky and shivered. "But… I want them back now! I miss mommy and daddy. They promised me they wouldn't leave me alone. Why did they do it? They don't love me anymore, do they? Have I been a bad boy? I promise I'll be a good boy if they come back!" And he continued sobbing and talking to Noishe. "Noishy, can't you go find daddy and tell him to come back?" Noishe howled, and his head dropped, like he was apologizing.

Dirk thought it best to leave them alone for a while, and instead went to work on the gravestone he started making for Anna. He felt bad lying to the little fella, but he couldn't possibly tell him the truth without completely ripping the poor boy's life apart, could he? A tear fell down on the stone, and Dirk was surprised at seeing the little dark spot on the stone. He had cried. Dirk Irving had cried for the first time again in many years.

End ----------

A/N Well that was it pretty much. Couldn't think of anything else to write about. If you wanna see something feel free to drop a review and let me know. And it would be appreciated if you'd let me know what you think of it so far, Aka: REVIEW! xP

Lily Violet Oak: Hehe, thanks! I didn't think I'd continue this story either, but somehow I got hooked on ToS again. Glad you like it and I hope I'll be able to write a chapter at least once every few days.


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